Female artist metalsmiths unite to promote their craft in Europe

Juliette Bigley, Ane Christensen, Rebecca de Quin, Simone ten Hompel and Adi Toch are five metalsmiths from culturally diverse backgrounds. Living and working in London, they "share the language of metal and a love of making objects". All of their practices explore hollow forms through the lens of their own personal heritage and the particularity of their making.

Having worked together and beside each other as colleagues at numerous exhibitions, this will be the first time they will be exhibiting as a group of five artists. They hope to convey their different approaches to and experiences of life through the forms that they make.

Bigley explains: "We work in a mixture of base and precious metals including brasses, copper, steel, silver and gold. Some metals are left in their natural states and some are patinated or coloured giving a wider range of appearances for these metals. All of our work is original, designed and made by us in our various London studios."

While their individual practices express diverse styles, techniques and experiences, working in a range of base and precious metals, they all inhabit the grey zone between art, craft and design.

0

Together with a curated collection of contemporary handmade objects, they will present a short film telling the group’s story: five makers from diverse cultural backgrounds, of various nationalities and different generations, speaking with a singular voice using the language of metal. The film they are producing with the support of the Goldsmiths’ Company also focuses on the work itself – from the initial idea to the raw metal and finally the finished pieces.

Bigley adds: “We’ve worked beside and with each other, shared workshops and taught each other so it is particularly exciting to be collaborating on this unique exhibition to showcase our different ideas within one stand. We’re looking forward to showing our work to a new international audience and communicating what it’s like to be a metalsmith via our film.”